The Power of Working for Yourself

Innate in each person is the desire for freedom. The broadest definition of freedom (as I think or observe) to an average worker is doing what you like, when you like, how you like, with whom you like, and still get the results that you like. Wow! Freedom indeed.

But truly successful people seem to differ a little. They come to see their life as their work, and their work as their life. Work is the main task of humans. I can say in broad terms that we are created to work. You spend the most of your waking hours thinking, talking, travelling to or actively engaged in your work. Since your work takes more than 70% of your time, then it is only wise of you to have the right knowledge and perspective to work.

Wrong Perspectives to Work

1. I am working for someone. I hear people use this phrase often. They see themselves as working for their boss/employer. This phrase and perspective to work is wrong. Why? Because when you say you are working for someone, it means you are doing something for the person, and you are not getting anything from the relationship. For example, if you go to an orphanage to cheer the kids up or help in changing diaper the only thing you are likely going to get is a very big or fat ‘THANK YOU!’ and a very warm handshake or hug. You simply went to ‘work for the kids’. But in the case of work, your employer gives you quite a lot in return. (See The Benefits of Work). So, it is a mutual relationship.

2. My boss is just ‘using’ me. People use this phrase often when their pay check does not seem commensurable to their efforts. They feel they are not being paid how much they are worth. This may be due to the person’s educational level or professional qualifications. Especially when the worker is beginning to feel there are some things he ought to have achieved, and seems financially (or otherwise) incapacitated to get them done.

3. My job is ‘too’ demanding. Many workers want to have time to do whatever it is they seem right to them whenever they feel like. But truly successful people don’t do this. Top shot executives and business owners don’t do what they ‘feel’ like. They only do what is necessary in achieving their goals. True freedom is the ability to choose to enjoy what you do, and become the best in it in the world. Brian Tracy said that self-made millionaires work for more than 70 hours weekly. They get to work before everyone, and are usually the last to leave. If your job appears to be ‘too’ demanding, let me give it to you the way it is: You’re on the wrong job! Or you simply have a bad heart. Ask Bill Gates (how many hours he works.)

4. My boss is an ‘animal’. I know this seems to be extreme, but I’ve heard it again and again. I know employers shout at their staff, and too often threaten them with the loss of their job. Then they dangle a carrot before their face (like monkeys!) to motivate them to perform. But I must confess, that is only a lesson for you in human relations. Chances are your employer had a similar experience while in another person’s employment, and called his employer an animal too. If you don’t deliberately stop this thought process, and choose to learn to manage your employer/boss (see How to Handle a Difficult Boss) you’d soon be an animal too. What goes around also comes around.